Dropkick Murphys Rewrite Lyrics to ‘Shipping Up to Boston’ In Support of Marty Walsh

Screenshot via Vimeo

The Dropkick Murphys don’t change their song lyrics for just anybody. But when they do, they do it for Marty Walsh.

Walsh, one of two candidates up for the mayor’s seat, has been pulling in a lot of endorsements lately, including nods from Charlotte Golar Richie, and City Councilor Felix Arroyo.

The Dropkick Murphys first threw their support behind Walsh during his campaign in the primaries, however, and even played a show at one of his events in Dorchester, where Walsh got on stage and did an Irish dance alongside members of the band.

On Thursday, the Murphys upped the ante on their endorsement, and announced a new advertisement, slated to air on television, which replaces the words to their iconic song “Shipping Up to Boston” with the lyrics, “Marty Walsh for Boston.”

That’s it. Those are the lyrics. (Luckily for Walsh, the syllables in the original chorus of the song match-up pretty well with his name.)

“I’ve known Marty for 20 or 25 years,” said Dropkick Murphys lead singer Ken Casey in a statement. “The band doesn’t get involved with changing their songs just because they might believe in [a candidate’s] political beliefs. We’re really here to help Marty because he’s a good guy.”

Clad in Bruins jackets and other Boston sports gear in the new ad, members of the band crowd around a microphone in a studio to re-record the lyrics from their hit song.

To add weight to the endorsement, the Dropkicks also crammed in other noticeable Boston-themed props. Besides the obvious choice in clothing, band members hold up a sign that says “Mahhty for Mayahhh.” There is even an image of Walsh portraying the now-famous Boston Police officer Steve Horgan, whose image went viral after David Ortiz hit a grand slam in Game 2 of the American Championship League Series between the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.

The Dropkick Murphys also announced that they will be performing the National Anthem and “Shipping Up to Boston” (not the Walsh-approved edition, however) prior to game six of the ACLS on Saturday.

Here’s the ad in all of its glory:

Marty Walsh for Boston from Jackson Group Media on Vimeo.